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For nearly 50 years, nurse practitioners (NPs) have been providing vital healthcare services to individuals and communities. “From treating illnesses, to coordination of care and advising patients on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, nurse practitioners are fully qualified health care providers,” states Nancy McMurrey, Vice President, Communications of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). McMurrey added, “With a growing workforce (approximately 14,000 new NPs completed their academic programs in 2011–2012.), NPs are leading the charge in providing solutions to strengthening health care delivery in America.”

In honor of 2013’s Nurse Practitioner Week taking place from November 10 – 16, HEALTHeCAREERS Network (HeCN), an online healthcare recruiting solutions provider, has created the following fact sheet on NP employment statistics and trends via HEALTHeCAREERS.com.

Essential Facts: The Lowdown on Nurse Practitioners

There are more than 170,000 certified NPs in the United States today according to the AANP.

With the U.S. facing an insufficient number of physicians to meet the demand of the aging baby boomer population, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the number of jobs for any type of nurse, including NPs, will increase 26 percent from 2010 to 2020.

Between the first three quarters of 2012 and 2013, the number of organizations posting NP jobs on the HEALTHeCAREERS website increased by 4 percent.

By the Numbers: What are the Hottest Nurse Practitioner Jobs by Specialty?

In the first three quarters of 2013, family medicine, general medicine, psychiatric/mental health, and internal medicine were the most in-demand NP specialties.

The most significant jump in job postings was for urgent care NPs (increased by 86 percent from Q1–Q3 of 2012 to Q1–Q3 of 2013).

The increase in urgent care job postings is likely due to the growing demand for mid-level practitioners to fill the roles traditionally held by primary care physicians. Individuals are looking for alternative, more convenient locations to seek minor medical care typically provided in overcrowded emergency departments. This has led to a surge in urgent care centers and retail health clinics that employ NPs.

Location, Location, Location: Where are Nurse Practitioners Needed the Most?

Between Q1 and Q3 2013, California had the most significant increase in nurse practitioner job postings compared to any other state (up 13 percent).

Having the most populated state in the nation and one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States, the increase in demand for NPs in California is likely due to the anticipatory need to expand healthcare coverage and services to millions of Californian residences under President Obama's new healthcare law as detailed in the HeCN Q3 Healthcare Jobs Snapshot.

About HEALTHeCAREERS Network (HeCN)

HEALTHeCAREERS Network (HeCN) is the only true online single-source healthcare recruiting solution for providers and job seekers. HeCN provides a full spectrum of medical and healthcare jobs along with unparalleled access across disciplines and specialties. Employers are able to recruit qualified candidates and job seekers find employment opportunities specific to their individual career path. Designed to match qualified medical professionals with healthcare employers, HeCN also serves as a career destination complete with news, information, events, career resources and recruitment tools. To learn more about HeCN and our offerings for employers, recruiters and job seekers, please visit www.healthecareers.com, our blog, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

*Entirety of data shown here sourced from HEALTHeCAREERS Network internal data sources and was collected from the HEALTHeCAREERS online database of job openings, which are placed by healthcare providers across the U.S. These organizations range from large health systems to single specialty practices, with an average hospital size of 300 beds.